Coming to terms with your closets

By Maria Patterson “Not enough closet space” is a common lament of many homeowners. But the truth is, no matter how abundant or spacious your closets may be, the inner pack-rat in all of us tends to take over and stuff our shelves to capacity. If your closet contains articles of clothing with the price tags still on, sheet sets from your childhood bunk beds, or board games with more than a few pieces missing, raise the red flag—things have gotten out of control. While the prospect of overhauling your closets is indeed daunting, the benefits in terms of streamlining and organizing your day-to-day life (just imagine how much easier getting dressed in the morning could be?) make the challenge more than worth it. Here are some pointers to make tackling closet clean-outs less overwhelming: - Pick and choose. Often the biggest deterrent to closet cleaning is not knowing where to begin. Odds are, if you have one bad closet, you have more. Enlist a triage approach and decide which closet is in the worst shape and/or which closet you frequent most. Or, take the opposite approach and clean out a closet that needs the least amount of cleaning first. This will help ease you into the process and motivate you with a sense of accomplishment. - Think long-term. Unless you happen to be in a situation that affords you an inordinate amount of downtime, schedule your closet clean-outs over several months. Attempting to get them all done in one weekend is probably unrealistic and will leave you quite cranky come Monday morning. Shoot for something more reasonable, like one closet per month, or one closet per rainy weekend day. This type of approach is a lot more palatable. - Buy contractor bags. One of the biggest pitfalls of cleaning out a closet is hemming and hawing over what to keep, what to give away, and what to discard. As is often said, if you haven’t worn or used something in a year, get rid of it. But only plan to give it away if it’s in really excellent condition; otherwise, the clutter in your closet will simply be transferred to your trunk with your good intentions to give it away stretching out over months. A nice, big contractor bag by your side will be your best friend during closet clean-up. Throw stuff away and start fresh all around. - Consider an expert. For many homeowners, insufficient closet space is a real issue, especially if you live in a condo or smaller house. Also, if you’re abode is older, the closets may not have been designed with modern lifestyles in mind. A professional closet organizer can work miracles to revamp your closets for maximum space and organization.